Sunday Reading 30 September 2007

It’s the last weekend in September. You can barely see fall in the trees. Most remain full green. But some few have begun to show a hint of color as the sap makes its way down and the tree begins to prepare itself for it’s winter rest. Nights have begun to be cool.The morning fog is attaining those depths that only occur in the spring and fall. New shards have entered consciousness.

For thousands of years it has been known that much of our behavior is the result of the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. An early statement of this is in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Modern statements can be found in Freudian and behavioral psychology. Only a little self-awareness of our personal motivations shows that the principles hold true for the vast majority, if not all of our behavior. Even the most altruistic behavior frequently stems from these roots.

The most fulfilling, satisfying things we can do have little to do with meeting our own physical and biological needs. The satisfaction of these is necessary, but not sufficient for happiness and fulfillment. On the other hand, we do not need to do great and unique deeds to meet our higher level desires. In 23 Practical Things You Can Do to Make Your Life More Fulfilling Donald Latumahina shows several things we can do to become happier and more fulfilled. Some are purely personal. Others are social. All are effective.

But even these simple things are not always so simple. Any growth requires us to change. The path of least resistance is usually to do the same thing today that we did yesterday, and that we will again do tomorrow. In You can’t get to the fridge if you don’t get off the couch… Craig Harper aptly describes deviating from the path of least resistance as developing momentum in a new direction.

In A Simple Manifestation Karen Lynch describes the action of momentum in an incident in her life. In this post she describes visualizing a parking space, then letting it go. She didn’t get the parking space she visualized. She got one better. A small thing, but one for which she was grateful. The gratitude colored her day, allowing her to be face the events of the afternoon with equanimity as the momentum of the feeling carried her through.

It may seem a small thing, but it is in the small things that we live.

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Thank you for taking time to read Shards. Special thanks to those of you who have found something striking enough to link to it.

Joe Hauckes in You Can Now Get Your Button for “A Blogging Promise”.

Chris Cree in Tagged with Joe’s Promise.

April Groves in Remembering Who I Am with a Promise.

Liz Strauss in Oh My!! EVEN MORE Brilliant Link Stories!!!

Shelly Knuepper Tucker in Manic Monday, In More Ways Than One. 

Terry Starbucker in I’m Making Joe’s Promise. 

Rosa Say in A Promise to the JJL Community: We will Make A Difference.

KirkM in The JT Evening News 3rd Edition. 

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